Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Magic

Stimey posted recently about her magic group, a magic group of friends that is, and it made me think of my magic group.

When Beezus was 2 days old, I was having trouble getting her to latch on. At 4 days old I was desperate and turned to the Breastfeeding Center for Greater Washington and scheduled an in-home consultation with a lactation consultant. With just two visits and some over the phone advice, the LC fixed our problems and Beezus went on to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months, and continued breastfeeding until 16 months of age.

During that time, I started attending weekly workshops/classes at the BCGW and met lots of other women. A couple of them organized some weekend playdates and then some Mom's Nights Out. After a few months, some of us asked if people would like to be more than just friends or a playgroup - an intentional community that would care for each other. Most said yes.

And here we are. Six years later. We joke about setting up a commune (I wasn't joking).

We are separated by geography, political ideology, parenting styles, religion, race, method of schooling, career status, career ambitions, marital status, and many other things. We started out living all around the DC area, and now several have moved out of the area and the rest of us are separated by downtown or Beltway traffic !

We've been having some mild growing pains lately since some of the kids have entered elementary school and life is pulling us in many different directions. One of the women said this recently: ". . . all these discussions have really reaffirmed our collective commitment to our friendships, in the various ways that they are evolving, and to maintaining the essential awesomeness of our group."

It's difficult to put into words what these women mean to me. What I can say is that I care deeply for them and their families, and they feel the same about me. I would not be half the mother I am without their wisdom.

So, yes, we are separated by many things, but we are united by respect and admiration for each other. In today's world, I think that's sort of magical.